A driver who caused the death of two foals when their car collided with a trailer on the M25 has been urged to “do the right thing” and own up, as police have appealed for information.
The trailer was written off in the impact and one of the weanlings was killed. The other’s injuries were so bad it had to be put down at the scene. But the driver did not stop and is yet to be identified.
William Mason, whose father James was driving the car, told H&H they were taking the months-old foals to their new home, as a favour to a friend.
“It’s been awful,” he said. “We felt like we’d been hit, didn’t know what was happening, just got chucked up in the air. We looked in the mirror and saw the horsebox travelling backwards down the M25.”
The impact had ripped the trailer free from the towbar, sending it crashing into the barrier.
“Three people who stopped told us the car hit the back right side of the trailer, ripped the tow bar off and shot it up in the air,” he said.
“The foals were rescues, and we were taking them to their new home for a friend, who is devastated. It’s horrible.”
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James put an appeal for information or dashcam footage on Facebook; some information has come from this and been passed to police. A possible line of enquiry could be debris from the car left on the carriageway.
“Do the right thing,” James said, when asked what he would say to the driver. “There’s no reason not to stop.”
James added that because their immediate reaction to the impact was to see what had happened to the horses, neither he nor his father saw the vehicle responsible.
“The driver could have been anywhere, he was long gone,” he said. “A few people have come forward with information and it’s all gone to the police so fingers crossed.”
On social media, James added: “We need to get justice for the poor animals that suffered.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police are appealing for witnesses following a fail-to-stop collision on the M25 in Enfield which resulted in the deaths of two horses.
“Police were called at about 8.50am on Saturday, 7 October to between junctions 24 and 25 following reports that a car – believed to be a dark-coloured VW Touran – had collided with a horsebox being towed by a van. The horsebox, which was carrying two five-month-old foals, overturned. The driver of the car left the scene.”
Officers have asked any witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to call police via 101 quoting reference CAD 1969/07Oct.
Update: it is thought the vehicle is a grey VW Sharan, generation two.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
